Isa van Lier

Isa van Lier (Amsterdam, NL, 1996) makes ceramic sculptures, installations, paintings and drawings. With her work she conveys an all-embracing idea of softness and playfulness. Through an universal imagery of shapes and colors, she immerses the viewer in wonder. She creates playgrounds, where the childlike curiosity of the viewer is being tickled, where time stands still and the intuitive inner world is allowed to be felt.

In 2019, Van Lier spent four months in Japan as an exchange student at Tokyo Zokei University. This stay had a profound effect on her work. In particular the 'kawaii' culture of the country inspires her: a cuteness that is visible through all layers of society. In Japan she was also introduced to 'shinto animism', which believes that everything and every object has a soul. By adding personalities to the shapes in her work, she applies this philosophy herself.

The magnus opum in her young career is the fascinating work Len temple (Temple of Spring), which she made for the group exhibition Paradys (2022). Van Lier made a contemporary temple inspired by the Zen gardens of Japan, recreating the serenity and balance she found in these gardens. It was a plea for the creation of these kinds of places, which Van Lier feels are missing from the pace of everyday life in the Netherlands.

Isa van Lier acquired a BA in Fine Arts at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK), The Hague in 2020. The following year she was a nominee for the Piket Prize for Visual Arts. She has exhibited at Het HEM, Zaandam, Art Rotterdam and 3.00G gallery in Tokyo amongst others. In 2022 her work was shown at the Kunsthal in Rotterdam and at the exhibition Paradys in Oranjewoud, curated by Hans den Hartog Jager. She did residencies at EKWC, Oisterwijk and at Het HEM in Zaandam.

Exhibitions & fairs with the gallery:
Art Island 2023
Sowing Seeds
Painters Painters